Allison Burchett waives right to be formally arraigned, hearing set

A Nov. 17 status hearing has been set for Burchett, who did not appear in court Thursday.

Arraignments are held so that the court can read the formal charges against a defendant.

Seven
of the charges she faces are felonies, including six identify theft
charges, and one tampering with evidence charge, a Class C crime, which
carries three to 15 years imprisonment. The other six charges - computer
crimes - are misdemeanors.

Allison Burchett is the former wife of Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett. The two divorced in 2012.

During
Thursday’s arraignment, Knox County Criminal Court Judge Steven Sword
told Burchett’s attorney, David Eldridge, that he “is not a close
personal friend of (Tim Burchett), but we are friends.”

Sword noted that he signed the search warrant authorities used to obtain evidence against her.
Sword
told Eldridge that if Allison Burchett felt he had a conflict presiding
over her case that he would listen to arguments, but that he didn’t
believe there was a conflict.

Eldridge said he would discuss the matter with Allison Burchett and get back with the court.

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My name is Mike Donila and I'm a reporter with WBIR in Knoxville, TN. I cover government. All politics is local, and mostly ridiculous. Travis Fain of Lucid Idiocy said that. He's a smart guy. This is my blog. The content ranges.